Boise State visits Nevada in clash of former WAC foes

Reno, NV (Sports Network) - Former competitors in the Western Athletic
Conference get together for the regular season finale on Saturday, as the
25th-ranked Boise State Broncos mix it up against the Nevada Wolf Pack in
Mountain West Conference play at Mackay Stadium in Reno.

The Broncos enjoyed a bye last week, yet even with them being idle they earned
enough votes to again be considered one of the Top-25 programs in the nation.
Since losing for just the second time in 2012 to San Diego State (21-19) at
home on Nov. 3, Boise State has picked up two more victories to move to 9-2
overall and 6-1 in Mountain West play.

On Nov. 17, the Broncos kept themselves in the race for the MWC title with a
42-14 stomping of Colorado State at home on the blue turf. While both Fresno
State and SDSU already share the league title in the MWC and have finished
their respective schedules, BSU could still make it a three-way tie with a win
over Nevada this weekend. Should the Broncos come out victorious, it would
mark the program's fifth conference title in head coach Chris Petersen's seven
seasons at the helm.

As for the Wolf Pack, they picked the absolute worst time to stumble on a
three-game slide, losing to both the Aztecs and Bulldogs, as well as Air Force
late last month. Like Boise State, Nevada was also off last week, which gave
the team time to reflect on a much-needed 31-24 win over New Mexico that they
notched on Nov. 17 on the road. As luck would have it, with a record of 7-4
and 4-3 in conference, Nevada is already not only bowl eligible, but it has
accepted an invitation to the New Mexico Bowl and will play a Pac-12 opponent
on Dec. 15 back in Albuquerque once more.

"This is great news and we will be looking forward to it," Nevada coach Chris
Ault said. "We know from experience that this is a first-class event."

With the invitation, the Pack is playing in the postseason for the eighth
straight year, the longest stretch in program history. Hopefully history will
not repeat itself however, as Nevada fell to New Mexico in this event five
years ago, 23-0.

Boise State holds a 25-13 lead in the all-time series between the squads,
capturing a 30-10 win at home in Idaho last season. With that victory, the
Broncos have now taken 11 of the last 12 matchups, the only win for the Pack
coming two years ago here in Reno by a final of 34-31. During this particular
12-game stretch, BSU has scored at least 30 points each time out.

Clearly this season has been one of transition for the Broncos, after losing
countless key players from teams in the last few years that have given the BCS
a scare on a regular basis. One of the players experiencing growing pains with
his new-found responsibilities is quarterback Joe Southwick who, while
completing 66.1 percent of his pass attempts for 206.1 ypg and 15 touchdowns,
has been intercepted seven times and has had his confidence shaken more than
once.

Matt Miller has been somewhat of a comforting teammate who has caught 53
passes for 552 yards and four touchdowns for Southwick, but this passing
attack is still a far cry from the one that Kellen Moore operated the previous
four seasons.

D.J. Harper has tried to lighten the burden placed on Southwick by producing
935 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, two of those scores coming against
Colorado State in the latest outing as the team celebrated senior day in
Boise.

"It was emotional," Harper said of the atmosphere. "It's kind of hard to put
into words. Obviously, I teared up a little bit running out the tunnel and
seeing my family down there, telling me how proud of me they are. It just
meant a lot to me."

Over on the other side, the defense has stood tall all season long for the
Broncos, holding opponents to just 159.8 ypg passing and 293.3 ypg in total
offense. Those numbers have prevented opponents from tripping up Boise State,
the foes scoring only 14.4 ppg which is the fifth-best mark in college
football.

Should the Wolf Pack be firing on all cylinders this weekend, they might give
the BSU defense a few headaches, particularly quarterback Cody Fajardo who, in
the mold of former Nevada signal-caller Colin Kaepernick, can be a dual threat
when the offense is operating at peak performance.

Fajardo has completed 66.5 percent of his pass attempts for 232.7 ypg and a
total of 17 touchdowns and on the ground he is second on the unit with 900
yards and 10 TDs on 153 rushing attempts. Now ranked second in the nation in
rushing with 142.2 ypg, Stefphon Jefferson has had a magical season for Nevada
and now just needs 169 yards to set the school's single-season rushing mark
and only 148 yards to establish a new high-water mark in the MWC. Jefferson
also needs one more TD to break the single-season record there as well, having
run into the end zone 20 times on the ground.

With the offense for the Pack apparently in capable hands, the defense now
needs to focus on shaking up Southwick and a vulnerable Boise State offense.
Brock Hekking and Lenny Jones could provide that push at the line of scrimmage
after combining for 12 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss through the first 11
outings. While the secondary makes it a habit of breaking up passes, the unit
has a mere four interceptions which is one of the lowest tallies in the
country.